


21 Nights

by starrystarrytrouble



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: Boss/Employee Relationship, Canon Compliant, Declarations Of Love, Doctors & Physicians, F/M, First Christmas, First Dates, I Love You, Meeting the Parents, Missing Scene, Operas, Public Display of Affection, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27196411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrystarrytrouble/pseuds/starrystarrytrouble
Summary: Moments from Ethan and MC’s new relationship over 3 weeks.Set in the time jump in c18, picking up from the hit the town night, with a few milestones we've missed.
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)
Kudos: 31





	21 Nights

**Day 1**

The fresh night air soothed Ethan and he ran a hand through his hair as he looked over Boston from the Edenbrook rooftop. 

Her friends had gone to an all-night taco bar and now only Eve was left with him. She was lost in the city skyline, staring ahead as her whole body shimmered in the most alluring gold. 

“You look beautiful in that dress.”

Low and dark, his voice awoke her from her trance. 

“I thought you hadn’t noticed, Ethan.”

“I always notice.”

A small blush crept over Eve. She liked how forward he’d been the last few months. Now that they weren’t hiding anymore, she was dating a whole new Ethan Ramsey. 

One who was a complete surprise. 

“I had a good night, up here, with your friends.” 

He wrapped his arm around her waist and she bit back a smile. 

“Me too. I’m glad you came up.”

“I didn’t really have a choice after all those texts you sent me.”

Waves of horror crept over her. 

“I text you tonight?”

“A lot.”

“What…did I say?”

He smiled.   
“Nothing bad. Unless you think poor spelling and grammar and use of that eggplant emoji is embarrassing. Which I do.”

She rolled her eyes at him and smiled. The bitter wind railed against her and she leaned into his warmth.

“I can’t believe Edenbrook closes in 3 weeks,” she said. 

“It’s a lot to process. But we’re making a huge difference to people’s lives every day.”

He looked at her head on his shoulder and carried on. 

“We’ve both been working hard lately. It’s been nice to have time for each other in between that these last few months.”

“Is that your way of saying you like me staying over?” She raised an eyebrow. 

“Actually, it’s my way of asking if you’re free tomorrow night.”

“I don’t know, I guess I’ll have to ask my boss.”

“He says you’re free,” he replied without missing a beat.

“Well then I guess I am. I’m more interested in the rest of tonight though.”

She moved her body flush against him, the gold of her dress and jasmine of her perfume bewitching him completely as she looked up at him with wide eyes. 

“Your place or mine?”

**Day 2**

The opera house was buzzing with chatter and tense anticipation, but her eyes kept flitting over to him. He’d insisted she wear the same gold dress again, and now she knew why. 

He matched her. 

Her heart skipped a beat every time she looked over at his golden pocket square and broad shoulders in a black suit. 

The last time they’d come here she was an intern playing with fire. 

Now she was someone’s date.

And that someone seemed utterly relaxed tonight as he looked around the grand red velveted hall with one hand on her thigh. 

“You really took me to La Traviata, huh? I thought you didn’t like the romantic operas.”

He smirked at her, the tiniest glint of mischief in his eyes as he moved his hand higher up the slit in her dress.

“I don’t… usually. I might get a little bored,” his voice was almost a whisper. 

She bit her bottom lip and gave him a wicked grin. 

The lights dimmed, plunging the hall into darkness. She felt his fingers trace a small circle on her bare leg. 

This was going to be interesting. 

**Day 5**

“Eve, there’s paper everywhere.”

Ethan returned from the kitchen with two mugs of coffee. In the 10 minutes he’d been away, his front room looked as though a printer had exploded.

There was paper covering every square inch of the floor. Loose sheets, notes from files, journals pressed open and scrappy lined pages she was writing on, balling up and flinging towards a non-existent bin.

“And?” Her voice was a distracted mutter.

“I’ve never seen this place so disorganised,” he said, almost in awe as he put the coffee down on a small island of bare floor next to her. 

“I’m looking for a way to help the Madison, no-one can figure out their case.” She took a bit from a plump red apple, distracted.

He looked down at her, her gaze directed on the notes in front of her, her hair bundled in a high pony and the tiny remainder of a day-old love bite grazing her shoulder as she sat cross legged in his white shirt.   
  
She was sheer chaos. 

He couldn’t help but admire her focus. He felt his pulse quicken slightly, the thought of pushing all the papers aside and diving back into her neck too tempting to ignore. 

She looked up at him and misread his intense stare. 

“I’m sorry I can tidy, I wasn’t thinking.”

She grabbed two handfuls of paper and desperately tried to push them together into a pile. They slipped apart and the sheets tumbled everywhere. 

“Eve?”

“Hmm?” 

She looked up but before she could process the thought, his lips were on her, softly drawing her in and she wrapped her arms around his neck and moved in deeper. 

“Ethan, this isn’t an incentive to tidy,” she whispered as they broke apart and he moved his mouth along her neck.

“No, it’s not,” she heard him mutter by her ear. 

**Day 7**

**11am**

“So Dr Ramsey’s looking happier than usual.” Aurora’s voice rang out as she flipped off her latex gloves with a loud snap and they stepped out of the free clinic.

“Is he?” Eve tried to stay neutral. They were at work. She wasn’t going to start gushing about him here. 

“He’s been looking kinda overworked lately.”

“We’re all overworked, Aurora.” 

“I know but he looks better today. You do too.” 

Eve shook her head as she smiled. Aurora noticed straight away. 

“Mmmhmm, you have for a while. You know Aunt Harper dated him for two years and I never even met him.”

“So?”

“Didn’t he go home to meet your folks last month?” Aurora tapped her clipboard casually. 

“Yes but…I hadn’t seen them for a while. We worked straight through Christmas.” 

Eve felt a tightness in her chest as she thought back to walking hand in hand with Ethan under the hot California sun. That weekend was so perfect, a small part of paradise they’d manage to carve away from the tension of Edenbrook. 

It felt so natural that he should meet her family that it didn’t even occur to her that this wasn’t something he usually did. 

Aurora turned the corner to the cafeteria. 

“It’s funny really, the whole hospital has been falling apart these last few months and you two finally managed to get together.” 

Eve looked up at her friend’s wide smile. 

“What do you mean?”

“Just that good things happen, even in bad times. Love always wins. Pick your cliché.”

“This isn’t… I’m not…” she stumbled over the words awkwardly. 

“Right, sorry, it’s a fling. You’re just banging your boss.”

“No!” Eve replied, so fiercely the nurses ahead of them in the queue turned around to look at her.

Aurora smirked.

She was gloating. 

Dammit.   
  
“Thought so.”

**10pm**

The TV was blaring but Eve wasn’t taking in a single word. 

Ethan sat down next to her on his couch. Moonlight shone through his apartment and lit up her face. The crinkles at the corners of her eyes concerned him.

“Something on your mind?”

“Just thinking. Is it bad that even with the hospital shutting, Aurora said I looked kinda happy?”

He leant back on the sofa, his shoulders slumping in relief. 

“Are you happy?”

A smile bloomed on her face, so captivating, he struggled to look away. 

“I think I am? I’m exhausted but with the work at the clinic, I’ve made a real difference the last few months. Our mission has given me some meaning after everything that’s happened. I’m so lucky to have my friends…and you.”

She turned to him, her green eyes glistening with affection and warmth radiated through him. He tucked her closer to him. 

“I’m happy too, Eve.” 

“Well you can retire early now. Second time in two years.”

“That’s not why!” He jerked up and she laughed. She looked up at him again. The lines on his forehead were more deeply etched. 

“You’ve been working harder than usual, Ethan.”

“We all have.”

“No, I guess I mean, are you working to distract yourself from what you’ll do next? Because you haven’t said yet.”

What they were going to do when Edenbrook closed was a gaping ocean between them that grew vaster every day. 

Anytime she asked him, he would give her a vague answer, encouraging her to apply for every residency she could. 

“I’ll figure something out when the time’s right.”

She looked over at his blue eyes, positioned straight ahead and away from her. Whatever was sparkling in them right now was anything but happiness.

She hadn’t applied to anything yet. She didn’t intend to unless it kept her in Boston. But she wasn’t ready to tell him that. 

“What are you watching?” he asked. The storm that had played out in his eyes a moment ago disappeared without a trace.

“Tiger King,” she replied with a small smile. 

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“Why is he king of the tigers?” he asked, so curiously that she had to stifle a laugh. 

“He’s not…”   
She couldn’t hold back. 

Her perfectly musical laugh rippled through his apartment and he looked at her in awe. 

The tiny tendrils of fear that had been creeping over him the last few days were a distant memory. 

**Day 10**

“Come on, it’s late, let’s go home.”

Ethan picked up his coat and put a small hand at the small of Eve’s back. She nodded softly and they walked through the near silent Edenbrook corridor. 

“So what are you cooking me?” Eve nudged him gently. 

“You want me to cook?”

“Actually, I want to tease you while you watch Nigella cook.”

He rolled his eyes, a small pink blush warming his neck and Eve laughed. She liked to see him ruffled. 

“I don’t *watch* her cook, I read her recipes.”

“Riiight.”

“Goodnight Dr Ramsey, Dr Valentine,” Marlene smiled at them broadly from the nurses’ station, a warm glint in her eye. 

Boston was beautiful this spring, the sky painted in lavender and rose, a ravishing tapestry in pastel. Eve stared up at the rosy clouds, a smile painted on her face as they walked into the parking lot. 

Ethan noticed the mischief in her expression. He was getting used to all the layers of magic and trouble her smile could hold.   
  
“What?”

“Doesn’t it bother you how people look at us?” she replied. 

“How do they look at us?” He unlocked the car. 

“Like we’re cute,” she said, her lips now parted into a small smirk. 

He stared at them for a moment too long before replying. 

“You are cute.”

She didn’t take the bait.

“Not me, you too. Us.”

“I can live with that.”

“You think we’re cute?”

She climbed into the car after him. He was clicking in his seatbelt, pretending to be nonchalant but she could tell his focus was still on her. 

“We’re an appropriately matched couple, yes.” 

He put his key in the ignition but felt her hand cover his.

“Couple?”

Her eyes were wide with curiosity and he felt her wrist against his, her pulse racing. 

“Yes,” he said firmly.

“Like two people?”

“Like two people who are in a relationship.” He interlaced his fingers with hers and brought her hand up to his lips. 

The look she gave him in response was breathtaking. 

**Day 12**

It was the first Saturday Eve had off since she’d gone to visit her family with Ethan.

It was 8am. 

And she’d been summoned to his place, despite his insistence that she stay at her own apartment the night before to catch up on sleep.

She rubbed her eyes for the final time and knocked. 

When Ethan opened the door, she blinked twice. He looked different. He was grinning widely. 

“You’re smiling. A lot. I don’t know why but it’s starting to scare me,” she said with a raised eyebrow.

“You’ll see.”

He opened the door wider but before she could walk in a beautiful burst of golden fur jumped on her and was licking her face. 

She giggled and leant down, lapping up the Labrador’s attention and scratching his ears.

“And who do we have here? You’re a good boy aren’t you, yes you are. I’m talking to him by the way, not you,” she said with a small smile up at Ethan.

“Eve, meet Jenner. Jenner, Eve.

“My dad brought him down, he’s staying for the weekend.”

Eve laid down on the floor and Jenner laid next to her, vigorously licking her face. 

“Hi Jenner, aw you’re a cutie aren’t you.”

Ethan was leaning casually against the doorframe, looking down at the sight before him in awe. She quirked an eyebrow at him. 

“Why is he down?” 

“I just thought you two should meet.”

Her heart skipped a beat. 

**Day 14**

**12pm**

Her eyes were fire.

But her voice was calm.

“So you’re happy with me moving to California?”

Ethan crossed his arms and stood tall by his desk. 

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you want me to apply to UCLA.”

He sighed. He couldn’t remember the last time she stood so far away from him.

“It’s a good opportunity for you. Your career should be more important.”

“Than us?” she shot back.

Silence burnt through the distance between them. 

“You’re unbelievable, Ethan. I can’t believe you’re doing this again.”

He looked at the raindrops clinging to the window before turning back to her. 

“I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“I wanted you to say that you care about us. That you’ll fight for this.”

The sound of her heels racing down the empty corridor rang out long after she’d left. 

He heard his voice fill the room after she was gone. 

“I will.”

**9pm**

He hit send on the text but he knew it was far too late. 

The replies came back quickly and white hot regret coursed through his blood. 

**_I do care about us._ **   
**_Eve?_ **

_More than my career?_

**_If I care about you, then I have to care about your career._ **

_You really don’t get it do you?_

**_I’m trying to._ **

_I don’t need a mentor right now Ethan, I need a boyfriend._

He emptied the glass of scotch, paid his tab, and called a cab. 

**9.30pm**

“Dr Ramsey?”

Sienna opened the door with a start. Even to her tired eyes, Ethan looked absolutely exhausted. His tie was loose around his neck and he was rubbing his forehead.

“Er… Eve is…”  
Sienna glanced over to her best friend, who was staring at her, shaking her head and mouthing ‘no’.

She took one more look at Ethan’s pathetic figure and made her mind up.

“She’s right here. Come in.”

Sienna opened the door wide and ushered him in, mouthing a quick ‘sorry’ over to Eve. 

He shuffled in and met Eve’s eye. The fire was still there.

A quick glance over to the rest of the room told him that all of her friends were home.

And all of them were looking at him.

“Erm…can we get some privacy.” 

“Whatever you want to say, say it here.” Her voice was flat and unforgiving. 

“Right, ahem. I respect your decisions. I want the best for the rest of your residency, you are an excellent doctor and you shouldn’t have to suffer because of Edenbrook.”

“That’s good to know Dr Ramsey,” she deadpanned.

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“But I care about you more. And about us. Oh for god’s sake…”

He strode over to her and placed his hands on her arms.

“No, I don’t want you to move to California. I don’t want you to leave Boston, I don’t even want you working anywhere but on my team. But I can’t offer you that right now. I can only offer you…me.”

Her eyes widened and she pressed her lips over his urgently, melting into him as he wrapped his arms around her waist. 

They broke apart long after the cheering from her roommates stopped. 

“I guess that’ll do for now,” she muttered into his ear. 

“So you’ll stay in Boston?”

She nodded, staring up at him with the most enchanting smile. 

“If you stay, I stay.”

**Day 18**

**6am**

“Have you told her yet?”

“Told who what Dr Trinh?”

Sienna looked exasperated as she came and sat next to him at her kitchen counter. The flat was quiet, her and Ethan the only early risers. 

Whenever he stayed over they’d end up talking as dawn broke. 

She knew his secrets. 

“Told Eve how you feel about her,” she said in a loud whisper. 

“No, not yet.” He flipped through a medical journal.

Sienna rolled her eyes and stood to get up but his voice stopped her. 

“I almost do…every time I see her.”

She beamed wider than she thought possible. 

**11am**

“Have you said it yet?” Sienna said in a conspiratorial whisper. 

Eve shook her head with a smile as they walked down the corridor. 

“But you want to?”

Eve smiled with a nod. Sienna noted her inability to speak with a small grin of her own. 

“Then say it.”

Eve shook her head again with a delicate blush.

“He’s Ethan Ramsey. You don’t just tell Ethan Ramsey you love him…”

Before Eve could finish her sentence, she’d walked headfirst into a solid chest and broad shoulders.

“Oh!” she stared up at the dazzling smile ahead of her.

Bryce grinned back.

“You do when you’re Eve freaking Valentine.”

**Day 21**

It was midnight and the apartment was completely still by the time he returned home from the hospital.

Edenbrook really was closing tomorrow.

He’d sent Eve home but stayed as long as he could. 

He wasn’t ready to go.

Moonlight flooded through the window and he looked at the figure curled up on his couch.

He knelt by her and softly stroked her hair. 

Kissing her forehead gently, exhaustion washing over him, he heard his words break the silence.

“I love you.”

She stirred and eyes still shut, a small smiled drifted over her face. 

“You’ve been saying that a lot lately.”

“I thought you were asleep,” he replied softly.

“You say it when I’m awake too.” 

“Because I mean it. Come on.”

He lifted her up in his arms, her tired body barely protesting and he moved her on his bed. She curled up against him as he laid down beside her, her head tucked into his chest, the softness of her breath gentle against his skin.

“Ethan? I love you too,” she mumbled against him.

He rubbed small circles into her back as she drifted back to sleep and he closed his eyes tight, the weight of the day lifting with every trace of her skin under his tired fingers.

He was going to be okay. 

There was more to life than Edenbrook. 

There was a world of people out there he could help. 

And one person to love. 


End file.
